ZEC The Special Zone of the Canary Islands (ZEC) is a low tax area created under the Economic and Tax Regime (REF) of the Canary Islands, in order to promote the economic and social development of the Archipelago and diversify its productive structure. .

The ZEC was authorized by the European Commission (EC) in January 2000 and is regulated by Law 19/94 of July 6, 1994

WHO CAN ESTABLISH IN THE ZEC?

In general, all those entities and branches that intend to develop an industrial, commercial or service activity, framed in a list of permitted activities.

ADVANTAGES TAX BENEFITS OF ZEC ENTITIES

Corporate tax ZEC Entities will be subject to corporate tax in force in Spain, with a reduced tax rate of 4%.

This reduced tax rate will be applied on the tax base limits based on job creation, as shown in the table below.

Income tax exemption for non-residents

Dividends distributed by subsidiaries of ZEC entities to their parent companies resident in another country, as well as interest and other income obtained from the transfer of its capital to third parties and capital gains from personal property obtained without the mediation of a permanent establishment from the withholding.

This exemption applies to income earned by residents of any state when such income is paid by a ZEC entity and comes from transactions materially and effectively carried out within the geographic scope of the ZEC.

However, these exemptions will not apply when the income is obtained through countries or territories with which there is no actual exchange of tax information or when the parent company has its tax residence in one of those countries or territories. Transfer tax and stamp duty ZEC entities will be exempt from taxation for this tax in the following cases:

The acquisition of assets and rights for the development of the business of the ZEC Entity in the geographical area of the ZEC.

Corporate transactions carried out by ZEC Bodies, except for their dissolution. The documented legal acts linked to the operations carried out by these subjects in the geographical area of the ZEC.

General indirect taxes of the Canary Islands (IGIC) Under the ZEC regime, the deliveries of goods and services made by the ZEC Entities to each other, as well as the imports of goods made by them, will be exempt from taxation by the IGIC.

Compatibility with other REF tax incentives With the limit of Community legislation on the accumulation of aid and under certain conditions, the tax advantages of the ZEC are compatible with other tax incentives of the REF such as the Investment Reserve, the Investment Deduction and Free Zones. AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURE Investors wishing to establish themselves in the ZEC must obtain prior authorization from the board of directors of the ZEC consortium to become a ZEC entity.

The procedure is simple and begins with the submission of an authorization request before registration in the Official Register of ZEC Bodies (ROEZEC), a descriptive report of the economic activities to be developed together with some documents to be provided.

Once the prior authorization has been obtained, which must be granted within a maximum period of two months, the entity can register with the ROEZEC by presenting the Tax Identification Code (CIF), the simple copy of the document that accredits the constitution presented in front of the Mercantile Register and the application for registration with ROEZEC.

ZEC INFORMATION BROCHURE

LIST OF ACTIVITIES

List of activities included according to NACE Rev.2 2019

Source (https://canariaszec.com/)

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